Several months into a multiyear quest to “rigorously prioritize” its pipeline, Takeda is cutting a handful of programs.
The company revealed the changes on Thursday in its third-quarter earnings
report
, in which CEO Christophe Weber announced plans to retire in June 2026. Weber last year laid out the road map for a
broad restructuring
aimed at simplifying the company’s structure, removing layers and broadening roles. Takeda has also made several pipeline cuts over the last year, and it’s now
ending work
on a Phase 3 program for soticlestat in a form of epilepsy.
In 2024, soticlestat failed separate Phase 3 trials in Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and Takeda had already discontinued development in the latter condition. After meeting with the FDA about an indication for Dravet syndrome, a genetic form of epilepsy, regulators said current data “would not be capable of demonstrating substantial evidence of effectiveness,” Takeda said.
The company added that soticlestat’s financial impact on full-year results is “expected to be immaterial.”
Another Phase 3 program is also getting the boot. Takeda said it’s stopping work on the Exelixis-partnered drug Cabometyx in combination with Roche’s Tecentriq in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Cabometyx was originally developed by Exelixis, and then Takeda
inked a deal
for commercial and development rights in Japan in 2017. The drug is currently approved in the US for thyroid cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and renal cell carcinoma.
Takeda said the decision to pull the Cabometyx-Tecentriq combo in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer was “based on the trial results and assessment of Takeda’s development strategy.”
A Phase 1 trial for TAK-500 in solid tumors was also closed “due to dose-limiting toxicities.”
For the second consecutive quarter, Takeda raised its full-year revenue guidance. The company
said in October
that it expects full-year revenue to come in flat or slightly increase. It now expects an increase in revenue by a low single-digit percentage.
The company also touted three Phase 3 readouts coming in 2025, including oveporexton in narcolepsy type 1, zasocitinib in psoriasis, and rusfertide for a rare blood disorder called polycythemia vera.
“We are focused on advancing our promising late-stage pipeline and preparing for future launches. I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead for Takeda,” Weber said during an analyst call.
